At a time when the call for gender parity is more prevalent than ever, WFF is proud to present the second part of its Women on Top Series. Women on Top, an original WFF program, aims to inspire women and men in an environment that promotes networking, learning, and growth around the issues of gender equity and cultural diversity in media, both on screen and behind the scenes.

The first part of the Women on Top Series took place on June 15th in Vancouver and honoured Academy-Award winning actor Geena Davis. A passionate advocate of women’s equality in media, Davis shared her journey from Thelma & Louise to ultimately founding the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a women’s empowerment non-profit to create systemic change in entertainment media content creation.

The second part of the Women on Top Series continues at the Whistler Film Festival with a networking luncheon and keynote address on November 30 featuring Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. There, Di Nonno will speak about the institute’s latest research on gender representation in media, and why equal representation of women on screen matters.

The keynote luncheon will be followed by the Women on Top Workshop themed Making Media Equitable, which will extend the experience by providing further insight into what is happening globally and in Canada to address gender equality and diversity by exploring who is working to implement inclusion and what filmmakers can to do to support the mandate. The newest addition to the Women on Top Series at WFF includes the Western Canadian premiere of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING from American film director and producer Tom Donahue.

The Women on Top Series kicked off with Academy-Award winning actor and activist ​Geena Davis​ with a keynote luncheon in Vancouver on June 15.

The second part of the Women on Top Series will continue at the Whistler Film Festival with a networking luncheon and keynote address on November 30 featuring special guest Madeline Di Nonno​, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and C​hair of the Television Academy Foundation, who will speak about the institute’s latest research on gender representation in media, what is being done to address it, and why making media equitable and women on screen matters.​

The keynote luncheon will be followed by a workshop, which will extend the learning and growth by providing further insight into what is happening in globally and Canada to address gender equality and diversity, who is doing what, and what filmmakers can to do to support the mandate. The Workshop features Madeline Di Nonno, along with leading advocates and representatives from Canadian public agencies that have initiated policies and mandates to achieve gender equality and diversity in Canada.

The Women on Top Series presents the Western Canadian premiere of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING from American film director and producer Tom Donahue. Told first-hand by some of Hollywood’s leading voices in front of and behind the camera, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING takes an incisive look into the history, empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender discrimination and thus reinforce disparity in our culture. Produced with New Plot Films in association with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, David Yurman, and the Artemis Rising Foundation, the documentary seeks pathways and solutions from within and outside the industry, and around the world.

Sara Beth Edwards from KISS OFF Entertainment with her feature film THE ESTATE

Kate Kroll from Black Moon Media with her feature film PORTRAITS FROM A FIRE

Alexandra Caulfield from Alley Rock Films with her television series 3 WAYS

Christina Sicoli from Tilt 9 Entertainment with her feature film CHRIS RONSON: PROFESSIONAL POLICE OFFICER

Katie Weekley from Goonworks Films with her limited television series NURSIE

The WFF Women on Top Mentorship provides five female filmmakers with projects in development the invaluable opportunity to attend three epic events in the series that focus on addressing gender parity and diversity in the screen-based entertainment industry. Participants will discover why making media equitable and women on screen matter, who and what is making it happen, and what steps they can make with their careers and projects to support the mandate. Mentees will also receive the opportunity to meet with a mentor following the workshop to discuss how they can further the gender equality and diversity mandate with their projects.

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Sponsors & Ambassadors

You’re in great company! WFF’s Women on Top Series is supported by the following companies and individuals:

ABOUT WOMEN ON TOP:WFF’s Women on Top Series aims to inspire women and men in an environment that promotes networking, learning, and growth around the issues of gender equity and cultural diversity in media both on screens and behind the scenes. It began in 2016 when it took 100 women to the top of Whistler Mountain during the festival for a keynote breakfast with CMF’s CEO Valerie Creighton. Last year’s guest included American film producer and co-founder of Resonate Entertainment Susan Cartsonis, who is a frequent speaker on the economic argument for female inclusion in media.

ABOUT THE GEENA DAVIS INSTITUTE ON GENDER IN MEDIA: Founded by Academy-Award® winning actor and advocate Geena Davis in 2004, the Institute is the first and only research-based organization working within the media and entertainment industry to engage, educate, and influence content creators, marketers and audiences about the importance of eliminating unconscious bias, highlighting gender balance, challenging stereotypes, creating role models and scripting a wide variety of strong female characters in entertainment and media that targets and influences children ages 11 and under. The Institute is also the only organization employing the GD-IQ tool to create systemic change in entertainment media content creation.

The Whistler Film Festival Society is a charitable cultural organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler.